Study Abroad Budget Worksheet

A national “total cost” collapses several different official requirements into one number. For a study-visa budget, the useful unit is a dated line item with its own source, currency and evidence status. The same structure appears across GOV.UK, IRCC and Study Australia: course costs, living or housing, travel, visa charges and other expenses are treated separately. A worksheet makes clear what must be calculated, what must be paid, and where the official source stops.

Why a country total is the wrong unit

The UK Student visa money requirements on GOV.UK separate the course fee from the financial requirement for supporting yourself. IRCC’s study-permit financial-support page separates tuition, living expenses and transportation. Study Australia likewise identifies travel, course fees and rent as costs connected with a student visa.

These categories do different work. A tuition figure may come from a student-specific document; a living-expense amount may be an official visa threshold rather than a rent quotation; and a travel line may have no universal government price. Adding them into one country headline can hide those differences.

Use one worksheet for each country and application route. Each line should show the amount, its currency, the official source or document, the relevant date and whether the item is merely estimated, required, paid or already evidenced.

Set up the worksheet before entering numbers

Start each country section with the application date, course or programme, and the location used by the official rules. Then duplicate the following line items as needed.

A useful worksheet cell contains either an evidenced amount or a clear status such as “amount not stated” or “official estimate.” Do not fill a missing price by inference. Keep a document-specific amount separate from a visa financial threshold, even when both relate to tuition or housing.

Tuition: find the amount behind the official document

United Kingdom

On the GOV.UK Student visa money requirements page, the course-fee amount is the amount needed to pay for one academic year, up to 9 months. The amount itself appears on the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). Open and use the CAS rather than replacing the course fee with a general national estimate.

The separate GOV.UK maintenance rates do not provide the tuition figure. They belong in the housing or living-cost line.

Canada

IRCC’s Study permit: Proof of financial support page asks for proof that the first year’s tuition and housing fees have been paid. It gives a receipt from the designated learning institution as the relevant example.

Use the first-year amounts recorded on that receipt for the worksheet. IRCC’s family living-expense table does not include tuition or transportation, so it cannot be used as the tuition amount.

Australia

Study Australia’s Living and education costs page states that international tuition fees vary according to:

• the education provider;
• the level of study; and
• the study location in Australia.

The cited government page does not provide one national tuition price. Record the provider-specific amount for the declared level and location instead. The Australian living-cost estimate and student-visa savings figure are not substitutes for a course-specific tuition amount.

Keep course-related extras on their own line

Study Australia identifies learning materials and clothing requirements as possible additional course costs. Its examples of clothing requirements include work safety boots and a laboratory coat.

These items should remain visible rather than being hidden inside a broad tuition estimate. The official page identifies the categories but does not provide prices for them. If the course-specific official documents do not state an amount, record that no figure is stated instead of inventing one.

Housing and living costs are not always the same thing

United Kingdom: London bands and CAS boarding fees

For financial-support purposes, GOV.UK lists £1,529 per month for courses in London and £1,171 per month for courses outside London, in both cases for up to 9 months. London means the City of London and the 32 London boroughs.

These are monthly financial-requirement figures, not universal accommodation quotations. If an applicant is boarding at a residential independent school, GOV.UK says the boarding-fee amount should be used instead and that the amount is shown on the CAS. Record it as a separate housing line with its source.

Canada: receipt evidence plus a dated living-expense table

For first-year evidence, IRCC combines tuition and housing in the designated learning institution’s receipt. Enter the actual housing amount shown there.

IRCC also publishes a separate living-expense table for applicants and accompanying family members. These amounts exclude tuition and transportation. For all provinces and territories except Quebec, the evidenced date bands are:

These are living-expense financial-support amounts, not itemized rent quotations. Do not replace the housing amount on the Canadian receipt with this table, and do not apply the Quebec-excluded table to Quebec.

Australia: use the official living-cost estimate correctly

Study Australia provides a Cost of Living Calculator as a broad estimate of potential expenses. Record its result as an estimate for the relevant location, not as a guaranteed housing price.

The Australian Government’s student-visa process states that applicants must prove savings of at least AUD 29,710. Its examples connect the required savings with course fees, rent and travel. Study Australia also warns that actual living costs vary throughout Australia and may be higher than the amount needed for the visa application. The AUD 29,710 figure is therefore a visa financial-capacity threshold, not a complete personal budget.

Record the UK healthcare surcharge separately

The insurance-related line evidenced here is the UK Immigration Health Surcharge, which is separate from the Student visa fee.

GOV.UK states that an applicant usually needs to pay the surcharge in either of these situations:

• applying outside the UK for more than 6 months; or
• applying inside the UK for any length of time.

The official annual figures are £776 per year for students, their dependants and people on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa. The figure is also £776 per year for visa and immigration applicants under 18 at the time of application. For all other visa and immigration applications, the annual figure is £1,035. The page gives £1,552 for a 2-year student visa as an example and £3,105 for a 3-year visa in the other rate category.

The duration rules also affect the amount. An outside-UK application for 6 months or less does not require the surcharge, while an inside-UK application pays half the yearly cost. An application for more than 6 months but less than one year requires the cost of a full year wherever it is submitted from. Because a visa can last longer than the course, the visa duration—not simply the course dates—must be checked.

Private medical insurance does not remove the surcharge obligation. The amount must therefore remain separate from any private-insurance record.

Keep the Student visa fee on its own row

The GOV.UK Student visa overview states that the fee is £558 to apply from outside the UK. It is also £558 to extend or switch to a Student visa from inside the UK.

The fee is charged for each person who joins the applicant. Record each applicable person separately rather than treating the visa charge as a single course-level amount. The Student visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge are distinct charges, even though both are connected with the application.

Travel and transportation are funded categories

IRCC explicitly includes transportation to and from Canada for the applicant and accompanying family members among the costs for which sufficient resources must be shown.

Study Australia likewise includes travel alongside course fees and rent when describing the savings required for a student visa.

Neither cited official page provides a universal airfare or transportation price. The worksheet should therefore preserve travel as a required category, but mark the price as requiring a separately obtained fare rather than presenting an unsupported official figure.

Arrange first-year payments and evidence in order

United Kingdom: the 28-day money window

GOV.UK requires the required money to have been available for at least 28 consecutive days. The end of that period must be within 31 days of the visa application date.

This is an evidence-availability rule, not permission to delay payment. Record the required balance as part of the first-year financial plan, but assess whether it satisfies the official window on the actual application date.

Canada: first-year payment evidence

For the first-year sequence, mark tuition and housing as paid before registration is treated as complete. IRCC asks for proof that the first-year tuition and housing fees have been paid, such as a receipt from the designated learning institution.

For a programme more than a year long, keep a second planning line for the full duration of the studies. IRCC requires applicants to explain how they will pay for that full duration in addition to showing first-year resources.

Australia: offer, deposit and CoE sequence

Study Australia gives the following order:

1. Accept the Letter of Offer.
2. Pay the deposit.
3. Receive the CoE.
4. Include a copy of the CoE in the student visa application.

The CoE is sent only after the offer has been accepted and the deposit has been paid. It then serves as evidence that the applicant is registered for the declared course. The cited page provides this sequence but no universal deposit amount, so the worksheet should not invent one.

What not to do

Do not treat a nationality exemption as a permanent evidence waiver

The GOV.UK page lists nationality-based financial-requirement exemptions that include Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and the United States of America. It also states separate exceptions for certain people who have lived in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months before the application and for a student union sabbatical officer.

These exemptions are not evidence waivers. GOV.UK warns that an exempt applicant might still be asked to provide the financial evidence before receiving a decision.

Do not rely on funds that arrive late

A balance that becomes available only after the required period does not repair the UK evidence timeline. If the required funds or timing are not met, the application can be sent back. The 28-day period must be tested before the visa-fee and first-year payment rows are treated as complete.

Do not freeze an old threshold in the worksheet

IRCC states that its living-expense amounts are updated each year. The correct Canadian amount depends on the application date and the applicable date band. Reopen every official source when the application is prepared, use the amount that applies on that date and preserve the date beside the figure rather than treating this article as a permanent price list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I convert all worksheet lines into one currency? No. The evidence does not provide exchange rates, so each amount should remain in its source currency and each country section should remain separate. A converted grand total would not be an official figure from the cited sources.

How early can I apply for a UK Student visa? GOV.UK says the earliest application date is 6 months before the course starts when applying from outside the UK. For an extension or switch inside the UK, the earliest point is 3 months before the course starts.

What period of Canadian bank statements is requested? IRCC asks for Canadian or foreign bank statements covering the past 6 months. The period must include the month in which the application is submitted or the month immediately before it.

Is Australia’s Cost of Living Calculator an exact rent quotation? No. Study Australia describes it as an approximate guide that was last updated in November 2023. Its result should be labelled as a broad estimate rather than a fixed housing requirement.

How long does GOV.UK usually take to decide a Student visa application? GOV.UK gives a usual decision period of 3 weeks for an application from outside the UK and 8 weeks for one from inside the UK. These are stated processing times, not guarantees of a decision or visa outcome.